Sailing Books - Page 5

River Horse: A Voyage Across America

William Least Heat Moon

List Price: $25.00 By: Simon & Schuster Audio Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $0.33

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> Narratives
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Essays & Travelogues

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 95 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this abridgement of River-Horse, the pre-eminent chronicler of American back roads -- who has given us the classics Blue Highways and Prairyerth -- recounts his singular voyage through American waters from sea to sea. Along the route, he offers a lyrical and ceaselessly fascinating shipboard perspective on the country and its rivers, lakes, canals, and landscapes. Brimming with history, drama, and wisdom, River-Horse belongs in the pantheon of American travel literature.

In his most ambitious journey ever, Heat-Moon sets off aboard a small boat he named Nikawa ("river horse" in Osage) from the Atlantic at New York Harbor in hopes of entering the Pacific near Astoria, Oregon. He and his companion, Pilotis, struggle to cover some five thousand watery miles -- more than any other cross-country river traveler has ever managed -- often following in the wakes of our most famous explores, from Henry Hudson to Lewis and Clark.

En route, the voyagers confront massive floods, submerged rocks, dangerous weather, and their own doubts about whether they can complete the trip. But the hard days yield up incomparable pleasures: strangers generous with help and eccentric tales, landscapes unchanged since Sacagawea saw them, riverscapes flowing with a lively past, and the growing belief that efforts to protect our lands and waters are beginning to pay off. And, throughout its course, the expedition enjoys coincidences so breathtaking as to suggest the intervention of a divine and witty Providence.

Teeming with humanity and high adventure, Heat-Moon's account is an unsentimental and original arteriogram of our nation at the edge of the Millennium.

The Long Way

Bernard Moitessier

Amazon Price: $14.85 List Price: $16.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sheridan House Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $9.74

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS
Subjects -> Science -> Earth Sciences -> Geography -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The 1960s: Rise of the Anti-Hero 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Moitessier's tale is a tale of the 1960s - of spirituality, of anti-commcercialsm, of anti-estasblishment, of yoga, of nature. Sailing solo tends to bring out one's deepest fears - understandably. Fortunately for Moitessier, he was a spiritual man, in tune with his times. And his times were all about the Anti-Hero, Man Against Machine, where winning is not an objective anymore, survival is.

So when Bernard said 'the hell with your prize and money', he shocked the world and sailed on to immortality. Note that another member of the contest, Donald Crowhurst (please read Donald Hall's classic), harboured different fears - which conspired against his sanity, resulting in suicide.

Read this book: it'll give you insights into sailing and the soul.

Editorial Review:

The Long Way recounts the incredible story of Bernard Moitessier's participation in the first Golden Globe Race a solo, non-stop circumnavigation rounding the three great Capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and the Horn. For seven months, the veteran seafarer battled storms, doldrums, gear failures, and knock-downs, as well as overwhelming fatigue and loneliness. Then, nearing the finish with victory in hand, Moitessier suddenly pulled out of the race and sailed on. His 37,455-mile journey continued for another three months, finally ending in Tahiti. Never once in all that time had he touched land.

A Voyage for Madmen

Peter Nichols

Amazon Price: $10.92 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 9 to 12 days By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $2.58

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Sea Adventures
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference
Subjects -> Science -> Nature & Ecology -> Oceans & Seas -> Oceanography -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Truly a race for madmen 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer described this book as a study in abnormal psychology. Having now completed this story I can only agree with him.

In many ways the story told reminds me of "into thin air" by John Krakauer, in that it asks what drives seemingly ordinary human beings to willing pit themselves against the elements in circumstances which can easily lead to their death. In this case the author asks what would possess nine sailors to undertake to sail around the world non-stop in an age before GPS navigation, Ultralight and tough building materials and satellite phones. An era when boats were constructed of steel and teak, where radio communications were unreliable and navigation a matter of charts and sextants.

The nine challengers proved to be a diverse group, from professional sailors, to electrical engineers to soldier adventures with no previous experience at sea, and the final results reflected this starting point with withdrawals, failure and in extreme cases insanity and death. In the end the final winner was the man who was most at home at sea, a simple man whose only weakness appeared to be that he lacked the imagination necessary to fully grasp the horrors that he faced on the journey.

Overall a classic true life adventure tale.

Editorial Review:

In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the finish line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death.

In this extraordinary book, Peter Nichols chronicles a contest of the individual against the sea, waged at a time before cell phones, satellite dishes, and electronic positioning systems. A Voyage for Madmen is a tale of sailors driven by their own dreams and demons, of horrific storms in the Southern Ocean, and of those riveting moments when a split-second decision means the difference between life and death.

Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear

John Vigor

Amazon Price: $18.57 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $9.31

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Boating
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> General
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Buy This Book 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 24 people found this review helpful.

Even if you do not plan to sail shorthanded thousands of miles offshore it's a very good idea to understand in detail what makes your boat seaworthy in difficult circumstances and to make it so.

This book is a very thorough and very readable treatment of the subject of everything you need to know about a sailboat (except how to sail; that part is assumed). These sorts of things distinguish good sailors from the mass of recreational sailors and I, for one, have an ambition to become the former. If you do, too, then this is a great book to read several times.

The Black Box theory of why some people are lucky and others aren't relates to preparedness and if only once in your life you need it, then it's worth it to you and your companions to have taken the trouble.

Editorial Review:

"An invaluable resource. [Vigor's] practical wisdom gives you the know-how and confidence to prepare your boat for the sea."--Cruising World. Here is the book that answer the sailor's fundamental question--"Can my boat take me offshore safely?"--then shows how to make it happen.

The Practical Mariner's Book of Knowledge: 420 Sea-Tested Rules of Thumb for Almost Every Boating Situation

John Vigor

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: International Marine division of McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $7.93

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Artists, A-Z -> ( A-C ) -> Balla, Giacomo
Subjects -> History -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Transportation -> Ships -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

For the Novice Boater 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This reference guide is perfect for the novice boater just learning the ropes. It's organized alphabetically to make finding topics easy.

Bluewater sailor 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book. Interesting and very funy. When you sail for a while you notice that things like the "black Box" described in the book are true. Very good advises...good companion if you planning bluewater sailing.

Great book to keep by the head! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book for new sailors and old.... Keep it by the head and you will enrich you sailing and "sitting" experience (or "s_itting " experience, ha, ha)...Full of great items from the highly technical to the ethereal--all concerning our common lust for the sea! Great gift for the sailor who has nothing or everything! It has a wealth of usefull information.

Editorial Review:

Between these covers is the essence of centuries of seafaring experience, distilled into a concise, alphabetically organized reference for sailors and powerboaters. You'll find rules of thumb for hull thickness, bottom paint coverage, estimating distances, when to hoist and lower flags, predicting weather, which colors are unlucky, rope size and strength, anchoring rights, making a rum punch, and a lot more. This is either the most useful boating book ever designed to entertain or the most entertaining book ever designed to be useful. Open it to any page and browse awhile. You'll see.

First You Have to Row a Little Boat: Reflections on Life & Living

Richard Bode

Amazon Price: $16.19 List Price: $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grand Central Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 107 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Excellent/Must Read, even if you do not sail . . . 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My favorite quotation . . . "For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze." This is much more than a book about sailing. Bode's words ring of honesty and truth. This book inspired me to "raise my sails" back in 1997 and they are still up today.

Mitch Ablom Goes Sailing 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I'm a rower, so this book may have fallen into my hands by mistake. But I enjoy sailing one-man boats, too. There are some sweet stories in this book. I didn't hate it or anything. But the overall emotional effect seemed contrived or prepackaged. I don't object to the hokeyness--I LIKE hokey!--but very chapter is a pat lesson from sailing that maps perfectly to life. Give me a break. The effect is charming at first, but eventually it's cloying and a little silly.

Contra one of the blurbs on the cover, I suspect one's enjoyment of this little book will be inversely related to one's familiarity with sailing. The less you know the more you may like it. (This is not borne out by a quick scan of the reviews, but only a small percentage of readers write reviews. I suspect a microscopic percentage write negative ones.) There's a rowing book that comes to mind here: MIND OVER WATER. It just didn't seem that deep to me. It didn't seem as if the guy really knew that much about rowing.

Books like this create a nice illusion of emotional depth, in my opinion. There's a market for that, which is fine by me. Bad breath is better than no breath at all.

Editorial Review:

When he was a boy, Richard Bode was taken under the wing of a sailor. He then learned to achieve mastery over the elements himself, and in turn over himself. He passes on these memories of his sailing youth, and how its simple lessons served him well in life, in this book.

Inspecting the Aging Sailboat (The International Marine Sailboat Library)

Don Casey

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $6.77

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Transportation -> Ships -> Repair & Maintenance
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Transportation -> Ships -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Transportation -> Ships -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

If you intend to buy a boat you had better be prepared. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great little, well illustrated book that will aid any prospective buyer of an old or even new yacht. If you're thinking about buying a yacht it can be too easy to fall in love and see straight through some rather serious faults. This book will guide you through all the obvious and not so obvious signs of use and abuse, poor workmanship and design, giving you an informed opinion as to whether or not to call a proffesional serveyor or forget it and keep saving for a new boat - I think I'll keep saving. Maybe they should retitle it 'Inspecting the hole in the sea you throw money into' - Jokes aside, highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

". . . the perfect place to begin, or continue, your education."
--Sailing

Whether you are shopping for a used fiberglass boat or prioritizing maintenance tasks on the one you already own, this book saves money--and perhaps even disaster. With clear step-by-step drawings and instructions, Don Casey explains how to recognize problems--both surface and hidden--and how to separate cosmetic flaws from serious faults.

The American Practical Navigator: "Bowditch"

Nathaniel Bowditch

Amazon Price: $32.97 List Price: $49.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Paradise Cay Publications Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $32.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This is a new edition of The American Practical Navigator, "Bowditch," offered by Celestaire and Paradise Cay Publications. This new edition is the most recent update of Bowditch, the definitive work on navigation.

Nathanial Bowditch first published this encyclopedic work in 1802. During the last two centuries over 75 editions, almost 1,000,000 copies, of Bowditch have been published by the US Government. It has lived because it has combined the best technologies of each generation of navigator. This new Bicentennial Edition includes the latest advances in electronic navigation and digital charting technology. It also covers nonelectronic navigation such as celestial, plotting and dead reckoning. Bowditch contains numerous tables which have been valued for years by practicing navigators.

Bowditch is carried on the bridge of every U.S. Navy ship and should be the mainstay of any serious navigator’s library. Paradise Cay and Celestaire’s commercial edition of Bowditch is a complete copy of the latest Government edition.

Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands, 13th ed

Nancy Scott; Simon Scott

Amazon Price: $29.95 List Price: $29.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Cruising Guide Publications Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $29.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> Excursion Guides
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> Navigation
Subjects -> Sports -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not very in depth guide 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This guide only gives basic information about cruising the Virgin Islands. It's not much better than the free guides that are given out and supported entirely by ads. It only gives information on islands where a commercial interest has supported the write up. It only gives a mention of islands or anchorages where some one is collecting a fee, so if there is a secluded spot that is free you won't read about it here. It doesn't provide any critique on establishments so you won't know if you are walking into the best restaurant on the island or a complete dump. I don't know if there are better guides for the Virgin Islands but it is a poor example of a cruising guide.

Editorial Review:

Completely revised and updated with full color sketch charts, these guides have been indispensable companions for sailors and visitors to these islands since 1982. Includes a free 17" x 27" color planning chart covering the Virgin Islands from St. Thomas to Anegada. Anchoring and mooring information and fees. Customs, immigration and National Parks regulations. Particulars on marina facilities and the amenities they offer. Water sports - where to go and where to rent equipment. Shore-side facilities, restaurants, beach bars, shops, provisions, Internet connections. Alphabetical - by island - Directory of goods and services. Everything you will need to help make your vacation an enjoyable and memorable experience in a concise easy-to-use format.

Sailboat Refinishing (International Marine Sailboat Library)

Don Casey

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 7 to 11 days By: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $6.12

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Transportation -> Ships -> Boat Building
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Boating
Subjects -> Sports -> Water Sports -> Sailing -> Instructional

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Clear guide to the Do's and Don'ts of painting a boat 5 out of 5 stars.
48 of 48 people found this review helpful.

Another crystal clear Don Casey book. Explains painting, varnishing, surface prep, brushes, solvents, sanding, basic gelcoat, fixing small blisters, painting the mast, applying the name, fixing non-skid surfaces, fixing crazing and alligatoring, and bottom painting. If I screw it up now, it won't be Casey's fault :)!

Editorial Review:

Make your boat shine again

No improvement to a tired-looking boat will have a more dramatic impact than refinishing, and few tasks are easier. Here is everything you need to achieve a fabulous finish on your fiberglass boat’s bottom, topsides, deck, spars, wood trim, and belowdeck surfaces while saving time, money, and grief.

What reviewers have said about Don Casey's boat maintenance books:

“Astonishingly clear text and illustrations. The reader can almost feel the hand-holding this book provides through each step.”--Dockside

“I own many books filled with advice, but I strongly suspect that this is the one I will consult most.”--Sailing

“Casey makes tricky points clear in hundreds of illustrations and lively prose.”--SailNet

“If you have an older sailboat, you need this book.”--The Ensign